Opinion: Census is inaccurate by nature

I first began to suspect that everything I was told about the census was bogus several years ago when the Census Bureau continued to undercount the homeless. At least it claimed to be undercounting them.

Every year during a Republican Administration the bureau would report they undercounted the homeless, with the following caveat: “We know they are out there. We just can’t find them to count.

It never occurred to them that maybe they had an accurate count. Their computer models told them they were off a tad, and they chose to believe the computer models rather than their lying eyes.

The latest 2020 census report informed me that the census missed an estimated 1.6 million people. The same Associated Press article I read told me the task of counting the nation’s 331 million residents faced unprecedented difficulties.

I don’t know about the difficulties, but what the statement told me was that the bureau failed to come up with the correct number of residents they had to count.

Indeed, I was told, that the people most likely to be missed were people of color, renters, noncitizens, children and people living in Texas.

This means that if a noncitizen were a child of color, renter, in Texas, he stood a chance of being undercounted five times. It also leaves aside the question that, if they know the nation has 331 million residents, why are we counting them?

The bright side of this story is that the “official” overcount or undercount won’t be known until next year. At that time the Census Bureau will release a report card on its accuracy. The bureau will measure the accuracy of the census by “independently surveying a sample of the population and estimating how many people and housing units were missed or counted erroneously.”

And this is the darker side of the story. They will create a “sample” population they assume will represent the total population, survey this artificial grouping, and then guess how far off they are.

If this makes sense to you, apply immediately for a position with the Census Bureau.

It should be apparent to all and sundry that in many cases, computer models don’t work. They haven’t been accurate in predicting climate changes, or election outcomes, so why should we rely on them to reflect an accurate census?

We have no idea how many noncitizens are illegally in this country. Estimates range from 12 to 20 million. When the last administration attempted to put a citizenship question on the census, the left wing screamed “racist” and the attempt failed. One can only assume that we also have no idea how many U.S. citizens there are, and that we also really don’t care to find out.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

[email protected]